The Cold Warrior era of bond films may, at first glance, appear to have almost no relation to each other. The last three Moore films; For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to a Kill; contain several key differences from the two Timothy Dalton films of the late 80s; however, For Your Eyes Only began a trend in the Bond films that continued through the Dalton movies to abandon the lighter elements of the previous era in favor of a darker, more intimate tone.

The cold war was alive and well at the beginning of the 1980s. Reagan’s increase in military spending, the consistent use of anti-soviet rhetoric throughout the decade and the hawkish, nationalistic agenda of Thatcher became reminiscent of the 1950s (Thatcher). Moore’s affable bond of the cannibal era was unfit to represent the present socio-political landscape.

To assimilate Moore’s Bond into the current cultural climate, a new direction was taken for the series. John Glen, the director of For Your Eyes Only, describes the change as, “a bit of a throwback in the sense that the emphasis is based on people rather than gadgets (‘Bond is back’).” Moore’s Bond becomes introspective. He reflects upon the weight of killing and does not seduce every woman he encounters. Eventually, however, Moore’s age and predilection for a lighter tone could not represent the Bond of the present.

Although the actor was replaced, the Bond of the late 80s remained a reflection of the darkening political mood. Timothy Dalton had been approached twice before to play Bond, but had said no both times. The first, as he felt himself too young and unable to replace Sean Connery; the second due to the direction to abandon the character’s roots in favor of a lighter tone. When approached a third time, Dalton insisted that the character draw on the original interpretation of Fleming to portray a modern, more serious Bond (Broccoli and Zec).

Film Historian Steven Jay Rubin described Dalton’s bond as, “a burned-out killer who may have just enough energy left for one final mission. That was Fleming’s Bond – a man who drank to diminish the poison in his system, the poison of a violent world with impossible demands…. his is the suffering Bond.” Dalton hoped his character could reflect the moral ambiguities of both Bond and the world.

The plots of the films can be divided into two categories: the Fleming-inspired thrillers and the American action flicks. The thrillers is comprised of For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and The Living Daylights. These films draw on the shorts stories of Ian Fleming and adapt them to the larger cultural context. The villains of these films could have been directly ripped from the pages of the novels, including the first time the USSR appears as the primary antagonist to Bond. These films embody the Thatcheristic aspects of 007.

The Action Flicks, A View to a Kill and License to Kill, are original stories set in North America and focus on growing social concerns during the 80s and its era of excess. The villains are a silicon valley tech mogul and a South American drug lord. These films have a heavier emphasis on action and violence, with graphic death scenes depicted in both films. Moore and Dalton both conclude on bombastic set pieces depicting massive amounts of carnage. These films represent the more Reaganistic aspects of James Bond.

Legal trouble ensued after the release of License to Kill causing Dalton to step away from the franchise. During the process to find a new Bond, the Berlin wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed and the internet was born. Globalization began a new age of connectivity. The jingoistic ideologies portrayed by Dalton and Moore during the Warrior Era could no longer represent the beliefs and fears of the public.

Broccoli looked to an Irish actor by the name of Pierce Brosnan as a possible replacement. Brosnan had been Broccoli’s primary choice to replace Moore since For Your Eyes Only, but scheduling issues resulted in the casting of Dalton (Healey). Brosnan, having wanted to accept the role initially, was enthusiastic to portray the golden boy of Britain. The golden qualities of Brosnan would have to wait, however, as a newly globalized world struggled to grapple with certain atrocities committed in the past. The world demanded a response from Britain for its colonialist history. Brosnan provided that response as a Champion of Imperialism.